ALONE
by G-V3
Summary: This takes off where book 54 The Beginning left off. Cassie's all alone now and mysterious things are happening. I wrote things that Applegate never DREAMED of writing of! PLUS, Loads of unexpected twists! Please R&R! Hope you like it! and if u dont, srry
1. Chapter 1

**ALONE**

Prologue

Hi, I'm Cassie. It's been two years since I last saw my friends. In my heart, I already know what happened to them. At first I still held on to hope, hope that maybe, just _maybe_ they'd return. All that hope is gone now. I know I have to face reality. They're gone, and they're never coming back. Although whenever I think about Ax, Rachel, Jake, Tobias, or Marco I cry, I know it is time to move on with my life.

After all, I'm a hero now and everyone knows it. My mom and dad are proud of me and so is everyone else in the world. I just wish that my friends could get the same recognitions as I did because without them, I surely wouldn't have made it this far. It pains me to even speak of this to you, but I feel you have to know the truth.

_The war isn't over yet_. In fact, it's just begun…

Chapter 1

"Where are we going?" I asked my friend, Ronnie Chambers, excitedly.

Ronnie smiled and said, "You'll see. Hop on."

I climbed aboard his motorcycle. He started the engine with a roar and in no time we were on the road. "Seriously, what's the big surprise?" I asked.

Ronnie just smiled.

I wrapped my arms around his waist to keep myself from falling off the motorcycle. I could feel the vibrations of him chuckling. He stopped at a red light and asked, "Hey Cass, you watched any TV lately?"

It was a random question, I guessed, he was just trying to get a conversation going. "No, I've been really busy taking care of all the animals and such."

My answer seemed to satisfy him. For the rest of the way, he was silent. Then he curved into a parking lot and parked his motorcycle. He put his helmet on one of the handles and I put mine on the other. As I looked around, I realized we were at the movie theatre. It was a new addition to the neighborhood and boy was it beautiful. The lights were flashing in rainbow colors and it was huge. The shape of it reminded me of a castle.

"C'mon," Ronnie said. He took my hand and led me to the ticket booth. Then he got two tickets and handed me one. "You won't believe this," he said.

I felt butterflies in my stomach. So he was taking me to the movies, like a…date? I couldn't help but blush. Fortunately, he didn't see me do so.

When we got in, the ticket clerk took our tickets and punched holes in them to certify them. She pointed to the direction of our movie. Just as we started to walk away, the ticket clerk bellowed, "Cassie?"

I stopped in my tracks and turned around. Now that I looked at her, she seemed a bit familiar in a way, but I couldn't remember who she was or even if I knew her. Of course, it wasn't odd that she knew me. Most of the people in the _world _knew me.

I nodded, "Yep."

"Oh my gosh! Cassie!" she ran to me and held me in a hug. "Don't you remember me?" she asked.

"Um…" I really didn't want to say no, but I really didn't remember her.

"It's me! Melissa!" she cried.

My heart seemed to skip a beat. _Melissa_? I felt a tear crawl down my cheek for some unknown reason. She had been friends with Rachel. That is, until we found out she was actually a Yeerk infested human. Now of course, the Yeerk was no longer in her. I saw that she had tears in her eyes too. Rachel's death had been devastating.

Ronnie waited patiently as I jabbed my tears away with my sleeve. I burned with embarrassment that Ronnie had seen me cry. Then I turned to Melissa and smiled. "It's nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too," she said. Then she embraced me one last time and went back to work.

Ronnie's smile slowly faded as he realized how hard times must've been for me. Then he smiled again and held my hand. He led me to one of the rooms. It was the largest one in the whole movie theatre. The movie screen was huge, it took up the whole wall and was at least fifty feet tall. We sat down next to each other.

"What movie is this?" I asked.

"You'll see," he answered.

I silently giggled to myself. So, this was his big surprise? Taking me to the movies. The word "date" kept popping up in my head and that just made my heart burn with intensity. When the commercials were over, the movie started.

The movie, I realized, was called "The Animorphs". Tears were swarming down my cheeks. Ronnie noticed and he wrapped his arm around me. I shook all over. Marco would've loved this, I thought.

The actress who played Rachel looked a lot like her. That just made me cry even more. Although the scenes weren't real, it felt real. I'd been there. At the end of the movie, a screen appeared with writing on it that read, "Let us remember our brave heroes who risked their lives to save humanity. Jake Berenson, Rachel Berenson, Tobias Fanger…" Tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't even finish reading the rest of the names. It was too painful.

"Cassie, are you alright?" Ronnie asked.

"Yeah," I sniffed, "I'm fine."

"Cassie, I'm sorry if you didn't like the movie. It's just I thought—,"

"I loved the movie," I interrupted. "It was wonderful. Thank you."

He hugged me and kissed me on the top of my head, a reassuring kiss. Then we walked out of the room. I wiped the rest of my tears away with my sleeve. Just as we were about to leave the movie theatre, Ronnie said, "I'm going to go to the men's room for a sec, be right back." Then he left.

While I waited for him to come back out, I suddenly heard a crash. I spun around and saw a tiger. Everyone was screaming. "Call animal control!" someone screamed. I was too shocked to move. The tiger, it was Jake's morph. It was _Jake's _tiger.

"Jake?" I asked. The tiger slowly walked towards me with fierce eyes. Then he snapped its jaws at me, baring his sharp teeth. "Jake, is that you?" I asked. The tiger charged. I dodged its attack. It was clear that this tiger was not Jake, but then how did it get here?" The tiger charged for me again, missed. I jumped into the air and morphed into a falcon. I had learned over the past years to morph with great speed. I finished morphing while midway in the air. Then I scratched the tiger's left shoulder with my talon. The tiger tried to bite me but I was on its back.

I tore his flesh away with my sharp talons in the same spot, leaving a large scab on its left shoulder. Was this tiger nothing but an animal, or was it more? I tried to scan through my mind to think of what was normal tiger behavior and what was not. Now all the people had evacuated the area. I saw a group of people charging. It was animal control. I didn't have time to think of tiger behavior before it shook me off and bit my wing. Feathers flew everywhere. I felt blood ooze out of the wound. I dug my talon into its right eye as hard as I could and it gave one deafening roar of pain. As the animal control officers neared, the tiger ran with an intense speed and ran out the back door. I slowly morphed back to my human self. The animal control officers ran out the back door to chase the tiger. Minutes passed and I began to wonder: Where was Ronnie? Was he one of the people who had evacuated because of the tiger? I had to find him. What if something bad happened to him?

I ran to the front door of the theatre and out. There were so many people outside it was impossible to find Ronnie. Just like finding a needle in a haystack. I walked into the parking lot to search for Ronnie's motorcycle. It was gone. Had he left without me?

I called Ronnie's cell phone. He didn't answer. Panic filled my chest. I hoped nothing bad happened to him. Maybe the tiger had chased him so he left. He wasn't the kind of person to abandon anyone. I was sure of it.

I called my mom. "Hello?" she said.

"Mom, I'm at the movies. Can you come pick me up?" I asked.

"Isn't Ronnie supposed to take you home?" she asked.

"He…" I didn't' want my mom to think badly of him, "He had to go home early. He told me he was really sorry. He had to visit his sick grandfather." I wasn't used to lying, but in this case, I felt it was the right thing to do.

"Ah…poor fellow. I'll be there soon Cassie." The phone went dead as she hung up.

I waited outside for my mom to show up. Eventually, she did. I climbed into the backseat and she drove me back home.

"How was it?" she asked me.

"What?" I asked.

"The movie," she said.

"It was beautiful," I stated, my voice shaky.

My mom didn't say anymore as she noticed how hard it was for me to watch it. When we got home, I flipped on the news. There on the screen was the tiger that had attacked me at the movies. They showed video footage of me on top of the tiger in my falcon morph that had been taken by the security cameras. The tiger. How could I have mistaken it for Jake? He was gone. That was just the past talking to me. I should've just moved on, but after today's incident, I didn't know what to do anymore.

What if they were still alive? I thought. What if…

"Cassie," my mom walked into the room and the glass of water she held in her hand dropped to the ground and shattered. She stared open-mouthed at the television screen. "That didn't happen today, did it?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm afraid it did," I said.

"That isn't you is it?" she asked me frantically.

"I'm afraid it is," I sighed.

"Oh, I'm so glad your okay," she hugged me. "Mom, of course I'm okay. In case you've forgotten, I helped save planet earth," I said. I didn't want her to worry about me, ever.

Just then the phone rang. I went to get it. "Careful. Don't step on the glass," she warned.

I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Ronnie. Listen, Cass, I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I was just so…so freaked out I ran for it. I'm sorry, but I knew that you would be okay or else I would've never left you. You're so strong and brave, but I'm sorry. Forgive me okay?"

He sounded so truly sorry it was impossible not to forgive him. "Sure, I forgive you."

"Thanks, oh listen, I gotta go now. Dad's calling me. I'll see you some other time. Bye," then he hung up. As I went back into the living room, the Breaking News had already ended.

I wondered what a tiger was doing in the movies. It had been a white tiger, just like Jake's morph. Was someone trying to play games with me? But the Yeerks were gone. Who'd want to kill me?

I decided it was just a coincidence. A tiger must've escaped from the zoo and ended up in the movie theatre. Since generally humans were prey to tigers, the tiger must've wanted to eat me. That was all there was to it. Basic animal instinct, nothing more.

My thoughts of the day's earlier disaster slowly transitioned into thoughts of Ronnie. Ever since I'd met him, he'd been like a brother to me, so kind and caring. Suddenly, I heard a scream from downstairs.

I hurried downstairs. "No!" I screamed as I saw my mother lying on the couch, bleeding. Her shirt was torn in the shape a claw would make. The window had shattered with pieces of glass on the floor. "Mom!" I screamed, tears blurring my vision. I ran to the phone and called the ambulance. Then I wet a paper towel and tried cleaning my mother's wounds, but there was so much blood I felt it were impossible.

When the ambulance finally arrived, they took me and my mother to the hospital. I stood by my mother the whole time. The nurses all held grim expressions. They told me to step outside for a moment. Then a doctor walked over to me. His head was bent low.

"Is she gonna make it?" I asked.

"I'm afraid…she's not," he said slowly.

My eyes filled with tears. The doctor placed his hand on my shoulder. "No!" I screamed, pushing his hand off. "Not my mom! Not her too! No!" I cried frantically.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hurry! They're catching up with us!" Marco screamed.

"We have to morph!" Jake yelled. "Everyone, battle morphs pronto!"

Rachel morphed to grizzly bear, Marco to gorilla, Jake to tiger, and me to wolf. Tobias and Ax didn't morph.

The group of Controllers ran to surround us.

Jake held my hand and smiled. "Come on, let's go."

"How could you tell?" Jake screamed angrily.

_Jake. Jake. Jake. Jake. Jake. Jake. Where are you?_

"Ah!" I gasped, sitting up in my bed. It had all been a dream. Why had I dreamed about this? I hadn't dreamed about the other Animorphs in so long, so why today? I took a deep breath. I felt a hollow space in my heart, a piece that was missing. I shook that devastating feeling of dread away. I wondered why I'd dreamt about Jake so much. Was it because of the earlier incident? Yeah, I told myself, that's probably why. I remembered all the flashbacks I'd dreamt about. "I miss you," I silently said, looking out my window at the stars shining brightly in the sky, "I miss you all."

Then I went back to sleep. I dreamt about my mom this time. The claw marks on her shirt. The _claw_ marks! Was it that tiger again? What if it wasn't just some ordinary tiger? I thought I'd heard the Breaking News say that the tiger was still on the lose, so why did it choose my house to attack? What if it wasn't over? _What if the war wasn't over?_

Cold sweat poured down my forehead. I woke up by the feel of my own tears. I wiped them away and trembled. I crawled out of bed and into my restroom. I washed up and went downstairs. Where was my dad?

I ate some cereal. Then I decided to stop by at Ronnie's. I got into my car and drove to Ronnie's house. I knocked on the door. Ronnie's father opened the door.

"Is Ronnie available?" I asked.

"He's not available. I'm sorry," Ronnie father said. Then he slammed the door in my face.

I sighed and drove back home. My father still wasn't home. Where could he be? I wondered. "Dad?" I called. No reply. As I walked into the living room, I found my father lying on the floor, a puddle of blood surrounding him. I screamed, "NOOOOOOO!!!" I saw that leading up to another broken window were animal paw prints of blood. The tiger! It had come back!

"Dad!" I screamed. I bent down and put my hand on his bloody cheek. Then I kissed his forehead. He was dead. I called the ambulance once again and they told me the same news they'd told me the other night. Now I was an orphan.

Late at night, I was so sad and angry at the same time. I began talking to myself, "First my friends, now my parents! How can this happen to me? I've lost everyone I've ever cared about! Why! Why!" I told myself to get a grip. What's done is done. No one can change the past. Except the Ellimist. "Ellimist! Please! I need you!" I screamed. "I need you! Please! Please!" Nothing except the soft echoes of wind outside my windows. I saw traces of blood in the living room. I didn't want to clean it because it was all I had left of my mom and dad, as strange as that seemed.

"Oh, why did you choose me? Out of all people to be the Animorphs, why me? Now I've lost everyone!" Tears streamed down my cheeks. "I've lost _everyone_!" I repeated.

I sobbed all night. I sobbed until there were no more tears left in me. What was I living for? _Who_ was I living for? I had no one.

The next morning, the phone rang. I hadn't slept all night. Tears still stained my cheeks as I picked up the phone. It was Ronnie.

"Hey Cass, sorry about your parents," Ronnie said.

"How do you know?" I asked with a sniff.

"Because your Cassie. They put your parents' tragic death all over the news. We all grieve dearly for you. I'm sorry," he said.

It felt good to be talking to him. Maybe I did have someone. Ronnie. I fake chuckled, it came out sounding more like a raspy croak.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ronnie asked.

"I'm okay," I said although that was the opposite of what I felt. I was depressed, mesmerized, devastated.

"Maybe you need some time alone," Ronnie said, "I'll see you soon. Bye."

I hung up. I wiped the tears away from my eyes. I needed some fresh air, I thought. I grabbed my keys and stepped out my house. I walked through my neighborhood until I was at the very end. Suddenly, I heard a snarl behind me. I spun around. There was the tiger!

"Who are you?" I asked.

(You know who I am) came a voice. It was male, but I couldn't make out whose voice it was. It seemed familiar. Was it Visser Three? No, couldn't be. I had seen him die. Could it have been a Yeerk? But then how would I know him? Could it be Jake? No…it couldn't be Jake. Not Jake. He was…he was dead, or was he?

"Who are you?" I repeated.

The tiger didn't answer. Instead it charged. I morphed with significant speed into a gray wolf. Then I charged at the tiger. I wanted to kill him. He had killed both my parents. He was going to pay. I ripped at the tiger's flesh, I stuck my fangs into his sinew. I tore at his face with my claws. Finally, he law crippled on the ground. (You're gonna pay for what you did!) I screamed in thought-speak. (You're gonna _pay!_)

The tiger fell to the ground and whimpered. Just as I turned my back, he charged again, pinning me to the ground. Then with his sharp claws, he clawed at my face and ripped a piece of skin off my cheek. I snarled in pain. Then I charged and bit the tiger in the neck as hard as I could. Then the tiger began to change.

I released my grip almost instantly. I couldn't help myself from letting go. I demorphed. "It can't be you! It can't be you!" I screamed, half from amazement and half from sorrow.

"Cass, it's me," Jake said. _Jake!_

Something about him didn't seem right. He wasn't Jake. He couldn't be Jake. Why would Jake kill my parents? Questions burned inside me.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"How did you get here?" I asked.

"I never left," he said.

I was mesmerized in disbelief. "But why!" I screamed, "Why did you kill my parents?"

Jake shifted his gaze to my eyes. The intensity of his gaze sent chills through my spine. He didn't answer my question. Instead, he morphed to peregrine falcon and flew away. I morphed to falcon and chased after him. He wasn't getting away that easily.

(Tell me!) I said in thought-speak. He didn't answer.

He swooped lower, lower. I followed him. BAM! I crashed into a tree branch. I fell twenty feet to the ground and landed with a heavy lifeless thump. My head hurt and so did my back. Suddenly I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was still lying there on the ground. There were hundreds of ants swarming over me. I felt their tiny teeth biting into my flesh. I tried shivering them off, but they were like glue. Gross, I thought.

How long had I been there? Had it passed two hours? Oh no! I tried morphing back to my human self. It didn't work. _This can't be happening_, I thought. Now I knew how Tobias felt. Trapped in a bird body for life.

I flew home but I couldn't get in because I couldn't open the door with my talons, so I just flew in through the broken window. Some of the broken jagged pieces of glass pierced through my wing. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't because I was a bird. _If only Tobias were here_, I thought, _he'd help me._

I didn't know what to do now. My life was ruined. I'd be better off dead. _No_, I told myself, _think positive. _Unfortunately, I couldn't think positive at all. It just got worse and worse. The only person who could help me now was Ronnie, but would he be okay with being friends with a falcon? I knew that we could never be, now that I was a bird.

Would the Ellimist help me now, when I need him the most? He was the only one who could, I knew. I needed his help so much, but I knew that he wouldn't come by me simply calling his name. I didn't know if he'd ever come again.

I flew over to the TV and poked my beak into the ON button. "There is a tiger terrorizing town. It seems as though it's impossible to catch it, so for everyone out there. Be careful," the lady said. I turned off the TV.

I was so angry. I felt so angry at myself, at the tiger. I was angry at the Ellimist for not showing up. I was angry at the way things turned out. I was so mad that I screamed so loud in thought speak that the whole world could hear, "WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

After screaming, I felt better. Yet I knew I was still helpless and alone. I would've given anything to talk to my friends again, but I was almost certain they were no longer alive. Why was it so hard to believe?

Suddenly, my head began to throb.

I flew over to the couch and lay there. I felt weak. My head throbbed with the worst headache imaginable. Suddenly, I heard something. I heard words. This wasn't a headache, I realized.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Ca— C-C—?)

I couldn't understand what the voices were saying, but I could tell they were using thought-speak and most-likely using it from some place real far away. I wondered who it could be.

(C-Care—)

I could make out the word "care". What did that mean? _Care_, I thought. Care_ful_, I realized. They were telling me to be careful. The only problem was, I had no idea who "they" were. I tried listening for more thought-speak, but after that last message, I heard no more.

_Oh why does it have to be like this_, I thought to myself. My mind drifted off to the day's events. Had it really been Jake? He didn't act like Jake, but he _had_ to be Jake. Who else could it possibly be?

I shook away the thoughts because I knew pondering over an unanswerable question would just be a waste of time. What if it _had_ been Jake? How could he do such a thing? I remembered back to when we were the Animorphs. That was when Jake and I were still together. Why would he want to turn on me now? What had I done to upset him?

_Stop thinking about this,_ I told myself, so instead my thoughts wandered off into the thought-speak messages I'd just received a few moments ago. Obviously, the thought-speak had come from a place far, far away because it had sounded close to someone with a really old walky-talky who was talking to someone in China.

_Why had the voices told me to be careful, if that's really what they had said_, I wondered. Was I in danger, or did I just imagine the whole thing? I didn't know what to think anymore. Things were just too weird. And now I was a _nothlit _forever. I'd probably never get back to my human self ever again. My heart felt heavy, but what could I do? I was a freaking bird.

How was I going to live now? Would I have to eat live mice, like Tobias had? _Gross_. I remembered back when I'd taken care of sick or injured mice. Now was I going to have to kill and eat them? _No I can't_, I realized. I couldn't bear to kill a live defenseless animal. That would be too cruel, but what else _could _I do? I had no choice. My stomach grumbled as I realized: it was time to hunt.

I tore through the wind like a silver bullet. I flew as fast as my wings would carry me, gaining altitude every second of the way. Surprisingly, it felt amazing. The cool wind brushing against my face was so soothing. I flapped my wings and landed on a tree branch in the woods, the place where Tobias had once hunted.

I scanned the ground. _Did hawks have better vision than peregrine falcons_, I wondered because I didn't see a thing. I thought too soon. I shifted my head automatically and spotted a gray scampering field mouse. It was running across the ground carrying a piece of food in its mouth. (I'm sorry, mousie) I said to the mouse even though I knew clearly it wouldn't understand me.

Then I plunged down with my talons outstretched. The mouse gave a piercing cry as I tried reaching for it with my talons. Once I got it in my grip, I couldn't kill it. I just couldn't. I let go of it and it scampered away into a hole. _This is too hard_, I thought. The look of desperation in the mouse's eyes had been so heartbreaking. It had been a look of defeat, a look I had seen many times before.

I decided to fly home. I swooped up into the sky and headed towards home. This time I flew slowly with less confidence. _How am I going to live_, I thought hopelessly. My life had gone from bad, to great, to horrible. I felt a great deal of depression as I got home. I landed on the roof of my house and just thought for a brief moment. Would I be better off dead? _Yes_, I thought without any hesitation.

_No, stop, you don't want to die Cassie_, I argued against myself.

I had never quite felt this depressed in my whole life. Even when Rachel had passed away, I hadn't felt this depressed. I didn't know what was happening to me, but I definitely didn't like it.

The phone rang. I ignored it. Then the voicemail came on.It was Ronnie again. "Hey Cass," he said, "Are you feeling okay? Sorry for bothering you if you're busy. I'm just really worried about you. Maybe you'd like to come over for a bit, just to talk? If you feel up to that challenge, please, stop by for a bit. I hope you feel better. Goodbye."

_I can't go to Ronnie's house_, I thought, _at least not in this state. _But his voice made me feel a tad bit better. I no longer felt as depressed as I had, although I still felt awful. Maybe I'll just rest for a while, I thought.

"Full emergency power to the engines," Jake said. "Ram the Blade Ship."

Suddenly, the vilest creature I'd ever seen appeared. He looked like a machine with a rattrap mouth and steel eyes. The most disturbing part was that Ax's face was split wide open along the bottom, revealing a new-formed mouth filled with sharp red-rimmed teeth.

"What is that thing?" Marco asked in disgust.

((I am The One))

My eyes instantly opened. I panted a bit but relaxed after looking around my surroundings. I had fallen asleep on the couch, still a bird, I realized with dread. My dream had all seemed too real. Once again, I'd dreamed about the others. The dream was slowly fading away from me now, but something about it made me want to remember it. Yes, it had been that creature. I shivered. _Ax_, I thought sadly.

I remembered the last phrase in my dream. "I am the One." _The One_, I thought. What was _The One_? _I don't care_, I told myself, shaking away my dream. _It was only a dream. I don't care. _

I was no longer the enthusiastic tree-hugger I'd used to be. My hopes were all gone. Everyone I loved was gone, and worst of all, Jake had killed my parents. Jake, the guy I used to love. No matter how many times I told myself it wasn't him, I always ended up believing that it was. There was no other logical explanation for all the things that had happened.

_I'm gonna do it_, I thought, _I'm gonna kill myself_.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I flew out the window again.

_Stop right now, you're insane_. I ignored my conscience. I was going to do it and that was final. Nothing was going to stop me.

I already made a plan for how I was going to kill myself. It was plain and simple. Since falcons couldn't swim, I was going to drown myself.

_I'm sorry Ax. I'm sorry Marco. I'm sorry Rachel. I'm sorry Tobias. I'm sorry…Jake. I'm sorry Ronnie. _I knew that if my friends were here, they wouldn't even begin to let me think about suicide, but then again, if they were here I wouldn't have began to think of it.

I flew to the small stream. _Here goes nothing_. I dove in, and just as I did, I realized this was stupid. _No! No! _I thought as I slowly sunk to the bottom of the stream. I was losing my breath. I tried flapping my wings to get back up above the surface, but I couldn't. I was going to die. I was really going to die. _Goodbye cruel world_, I thought as my heart stopped and my world diminished into darkness.

Suddenly I could see a white light. It was shining in the distance. Was this what happened after you died? "Hello?" I called. I was human, I thought happily. I walked towards the white light and suddenly the whole place was brightened. I shielded my eyes from the bright light. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw a blurry shadow in the distance.

The shadow walked closer and slowly I made out the figures. There standing before me were Jake, Marco, Tobias in his human body, Rachel, and the Ellimist. I couldn't believe it. I was so shocked I could barely speak, but I didn't have to. I saw that my friends had tears in their eyes as well as they embraced me.

"It's been so long," Rachel said. She walked towards me and embraced me.

"I missed you guys so much," I said through tears.

Marco walked over and hugged me, followed by Tobias. There was an awkward moment between Jake and me. I didn't get it. If Jake was here, then who was the tiger?

"Jake, is that really you?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, his eyes glinting with tears, "it's me Cassie."

I couldn't help but smile. I hugged him for a really long time. I didn't want to ever let go, but just then the Ellimist spoke up, "Cassie, there are complications in which only you can solve."

Jake loosened his grip on the hug and slowly I turned over to the Ellimist. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"There is a creature, a _force_, called The One," the Ellimist said wisely.

_The One! _"I had a dream," I said, "about _The One_."

"Yes," the Ellimist said wisely, "I am aware of that and I need to inform you that The One is a very powerful force. It's almost impossible to defeat and it has come down to Earth to do what the Yeerks failed to do."

I gulped. "Take over Earth," I said.

I looked at my friends and their expressions were dead serious. "So what am I supposed to do about it? _What _can I do about it now anyway?" I asked.

"Cassie, I'm giving you a chance," the Ellimist said, "a chance to turn back time."

My spirits lifted. More tears started crawling down my cheeks. "To when?" I asked.

"When it all began," the Ellimist said.

For a moment, I didn't understand what he was talking about. Was he talking about when the _Animorphs_ all began? If I had been alive, my heart would've been racing.

"I will take you back to the night before your parents' death," the Ellimist said.

_My parents!_ "Thank you!" I said, "But how will I defeat The One?"

"I don't know," the Ellimist said. I was astonished. Was there anything in the universe the Ellimist didn't know? He practically knew everything! Was this _One_ even more powerful than the Ellimist himself?

"But how will I possibly defeat it?" I asked hopelessly.

The Ellimist didn't speak. Then he said, "I will give you my powers to defeat The One."

My jaw practically dropped open. "Wh-what?" I stuttered. I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

The Ellimist nodded, then said, "Cassie, hold our your palm." I held out my palm. Then he opened up his palm as well. Gradually, a globe of light appeared on his palm, getting bigger and bigger until finally it stopped. "Here," he said, pressing his palm onto mine. Suddenly I felt a surge of power. "Wow, thank you Ellimist," I said.

The Ellimist nodded. "Now go, before it's too late," he said.

"No—wait, where do I find The One?" I asked.

The Ellimist was silent. "Cassie, with my power in you, you can find out all by yourself," he said kindly. Then my friends began fading away.

"Goodbye Cassie!" Rachel called.

"Bye!" I heard faint echoes of my long-lost friends as they all disappeared. Suddenly, I was back in darkness.

"Cassie, Cassie, wake up," it was Mom's voice.

I jolted upright. It was truly my mother. I was so glad to see her that I hugged her.

"Are you alright?" Mom asked me, "I thought I heard you crying in your sleep."

"Oh, I'm fine," I said. "Where'd Dad?" I asked.

"Sleeping. The guy can sleep through a tornado," she joked. I smiled.

"Thanks Mom," I said.

"For what?" she asked.

"For always being there for me," I answered.

"Well, thank you for that. Now goodnight honey," she said. As she walked out the room, she switched off the lights. I felt warm with happiness, but then I realized I was here for a reason. I had to stop The One, just as soon as I figured out how to use the Ellimist's powers. A slow smile spread across my face as I went back to sleep. I didn't dream about the Animorphs this time. Instead, I dreamt about Ronnie.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I felt the sunlight hit my face refreshingly. I smiled to myself as I pushed off my covers and went into the bathroom. I looked at my reflection and smiled again. I felt so good, so much more positive.

When I was done washing up, I went downstairs and greeted my mother. I had my breakfast of French toast. "Mmmm, that was delicious Mom," I complimented.

She smiled, "Thanks. New recipe. Want a drink?" She held out a glass of orange juice, but just as she was about to hand it to me, she tripped over a ragged up towel and fell to the ground. The glass clattered into a million pieces.

"Mom!" I yelled. "Are you okay?"

She groaned. I thought back to the Ellimist. The Ellimist was an all-mighty being. He could turn back time, and if I had his powers, that meant I could too. The only problem was, how did I "activate" it? What did I have to do? In some cases, there would be magical words that were spoken or a wand or something, but I'd never seen the Ellimist doing any of those things. What did I have to do to turn back—

"Thanks. New recipe. Want a drink?"

My head spurred to my mom. Before I had time to think, I yelled, "Watch out!"

My mom froze and looked down at the towel. "Oh thanks for the heads-up," she said warmly.

I nodded. _Okay, what just happened_? I hadn't even done anything magical. All I did was simply _want _to turn back time, and I did it! What if that was how it worked? By simply _wanting _something to happen, it did! My head spun from the exhilaration I was feeling. _This is amazing_, I thought, _truly spectacular! _I was so excited, but then I wondered: _Just how far _could _I turn back time? What if I could bring back my friends?_ My excitement slowly transferred into curiosity. _Maybe, just maybe—_

"Hey Cassie, mind helping me with the dishes?" Mom asked.

"Oh sure," I said. I got up and went over to the dishwasher. Then I helped my mom put each plate and dish into the dishwasher.

"Thanks," Mom said.

"No problem," I said. Then I walked up the stairs back into my room. I sat on my chair and pondered over the Ellimist. So what now? I knew I could no longer depend on him to save me because _I _had his powers, so the only person I could depend upon was myself. _Maybe it's time I tested these powers for real_, I thought.

"Mom, I'm gonna go for a walk," I said.

"Sure honey, just be back by lunch," she said.

"Okay, see ya," I said. I opened the front door and stepped out. Then I went for a walk to my neighborhood park. There were a few people there: a man sitting on the bench, feeding pigeons; a couple; a dad and his kid; and a few more people passing by. I took a seat on another bench and tried to focus on turning back time, which was up to this point, the only thing I could do successfully.

I waited and waited, but nothing happened. I tried again, this time people started to walk backwards but in slow motion. It looked as if they were walking frame-by-frame. I focused, closed my eyes, and focused. When I opened them, the sky was dark. I glanced at my watch. It was 5:48A.M.

_Success_, I thought, but then thinking back to what the Ellimist could do, I was a bit bummed. The Ellimist could turn back time in days, months, even years, and all I could do was turn it back a couple hours. _I definitely need more training_, I thought.

But first, I had to figure out what other powers the Ellimist had. What other things could he do? Oh yes, he could show events that happened before and take you to those events as if you were actually there, except no one would see you. It was kind of like a virtual movie of your past. The task seemed difficult, but if the Ellimist could do it, so could I.

I wanted to take myself back to the time we were at the dance. "We" as in the other Animorphs. I knew the memory would hurt like hell, but I wanted to relive it one more time, relive the good ol' times. I shut my eyes. I really wanted this.

"Cassie," it was Jake's voice. I opened my eyes.

"Jake," I said with a smile, but then I realized he was talking to the other me, the me in the past.

I watched tearfully at Jake and me dancing. I remembered that exact moment where he took me in his arms and we danced gracefully across the dance floor. He looked so handsome in his tux and his smile was so tender it made my heart beat faster. I understood one thing at that moment: the tiger couldn't have been Jake.

I laughed as I saw Rachel and Tobias, Tobias whom was fidgeting uneasily.

"Ow," Rachel said as Tobias accidentally stepped on her foot. He blushed bright red.

Then I saw Marco, at the punchbowls, giving himself some punch. His face looked gloomy and he sighed. I'd never noticed that before. He hadn't had a partner to the dance. _Poor Marco_, I thought. I was enjoying the memory so much, but suddenly everything turned black and I appeared back at the park.

_How come I didn't get to see the full memory? _I thought, a bit disappointed. I glanced at my watch again and saw that it was only 5:49. _One minute_! _All that had happened in one minute! _A cold wind brushed past my arm and I shivered. If I was able to turn _back _time, I must've also been able to speed up time. I closed my eyes tightly and focused on time to speed it up. Instantly, I heard birds and felt the warmth of the sun. _That was fast_, I thought. The man feeding the pigeons looked up at me and smiled, a cold smile sending chills down my spine.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Even though the man had looked away, the coldness of his gaze still shocked me. It had seemed so frightening, yet so…familiar. Somehow it reminded me of the tiger. _Stop thinking crazy_, I demanded to myself_, he's probably just a nice innocent man feeding some pigeons._ I carefully took a deep breath and shifted my eyes to the right without moving my head. I could _feel _the man staring at me. I quickly spun my head around, just in time to see the man turn his head back down to look at the pigeons.

I swallowed nervously. _No, it's nothing. Cassie, get a grip_. I took another deep breath and shivered slightly. I turned around to get another glance at the man, but he was gone. _That was fast_, I thought. I sighed. I wanted to go back to the dance. It reminded me of how peaceful times used to be. Although they weren't exactly peaceful, at least I had my friends. Now I was alone. I was grateful I had gotten the chance to turn back time so at least I had my parents, but there would always be a piece of my heart that was missing, a piece of my heart where only my friends could fill.

I was thinking negative once again. What was my problem? Couldn't I be glad for what I had, instead of mourn for what I didn't? "_Forget this_," I hissed silently. "I need to concentrate on my mission," I said softly to myself.

What else could the Ellimist do? I was aware he was a superior being, but after thinking about it, I hadn't seen him do many tricks before. Sure I'd seen him change time and all, but what other wonders could he do? I thought for a moment, gave up. _Whatever, I might as well accomplish what I know he can do_. What else was there to do? I'd gone to a virtual movie of the past, turned back time, and sped it up a bit. Most likely, that meant I could freeze time too. Excitement once again bubbled up inside me.

My eyes closed as I focused on time once more: this time, to _stop _it. I had a still picture of the park in my head. I tried to make it happen so that when I opened my eyes, what I saw would be what I had seen in my mind. However, that's not what happened. I opened my eyes and caught the man's gaze, the man who had been feeding the pigeons. I felt a little numb. I thought he had left already. Had he been watching me the whole time? He just smiled again and walked off.

My heartbeat sped up. _He's just a person. You can defeat him easily_. The thought calmed me down. Of course, I had the Ellimist's powers and the ability to morph. To a normal human, I was unstoppable. Slowly, my heartbeat settled down to its normal rate.

I was going to try to freeze time again. I needed to know as many tricks as I could in order to beat The One. My eyes scanned through the park, trees, and bushes. I found no signs of the man. I breathed a sigh of relief. I settled down and focused on freezing time. This time I didn't close my eyes. I looked at a man who was walking by and pictured him freezing midway across the grass. It didn't happen. Maybe turning back and speeding up time was easier than freezing it, or maybe the Ellimist _couldn't _freeze time. The thought occurred to me but I pushed it away. Of course he could freeze time. He was the _Ellimist _after all.

The man continued walking. I wondered if not the whole setting, could I only freeze _one _person or thing without freezing the rest? I concentrated even harder on the man who was walking. _And…3…2…1, freeze! _The man froze. I almost jumped up with joy at the sight of the man who stood there frozen. I noticed some people walking by who just glanced at the man in confusion.

_Now…unfreeze! _He didn't unfreeze. _Oh god…unfreeze! _He just stood there motionlessly. _What have I done? _I walked up to the man, pretending to be just any normal person walking by, hoping no one would recognize me. I touched the man's arm and just like that, he unfroze. The Ellimist's powers were stranger than I'd thought.

The man looked at me bewildered. Then he continued walking as if nothing had happened. Fortunately, no one else seemed to have been paying much attention to what had just happened. Relieved that the man was okay and no one else had seen what just happened, I smiled.


End file.
